Making New Year's resolutions is stupid - but we keep making them all year long

Making a New Year's resolutions makes about as much sense as throwing hundred-dollar bills into the wind and wishing for them to return but multiplied. It is a futile exercise and something like 97% of resolutions our fellow Americans make for the new year end up failing. Some of the most popular resolutions are the predictable ones - losing weight. Quitting smoking. Being healthy. Financial security. New business. Etcetera. The point is, they almost always fail. Why? Simple. All these things we want to resolve in the new year have just as much of a chance of happening as if we did the resolutions in the middle of July - virtually zero.

People are not resolving to do anything in the new year - what they are doing is lying to themselves. If they were sincere, they wouldn't wait for some idiotic arbitrary date to start the changes in their lives they want to see happen, they would just shut up about the actions and just do it. Today. Start today. Regardless of what day it is. New Year, New Moon, New Christopher day... whatever.

So a New Year's resolution is nothing but a lie we tell ourselves that allows us to feel good momentarily about something that we normally feel bad about.

Here is the secret to making sure a resolution comes true. Step 1. Don't wait for an arbitrary date to start making the changes you want to see in your life. Start today. Today is as good of a day to start as any. So might as well start today.

Step 2. Don't resolve to do anything. Just start and the result will speak for itself. If you set out with a huge goal but you decide to put it off until the new year, you might as well not start because you will lack the necessary stamina to actually do anything. But if you start small and work towards the goal every day, little by little you will get to the big part.

Step 3. Don't tell anyone about your resolution. If you talk about it, it won't happen. Talking about it versus doing it will be the difference between never getting to it and putting it behind you with action.

Step 4. Don't lie to yourself and say, with the new year, I will do ... xyz. Just say, with the new year, I will not change a damn thing about what I am doing I will just complain about it and proclaim that I will change but in reality, I have no intention of actually working towards what I want to see. STOP doing this. Just start. a 5 minute walk every day for the next 2 weeks will lead to a better habit of losing weight in 2025 then to try to get to a gym and work out for 3 hours on day 1 and then never setting foot in a gym ever again.

Step 5. If you don't want to change something about yourself, then don't. If you like being fat, lazy and broke, because it is easy, then don't say you will be athletic, motivated and financially secure. It's just a lie. If you want to be athletic, motivated and financially secure then stop talking about it and start doing it. It's totally ok if you start trying and trying and trying but you fail the entire year at everything you try - what you are doing is developing better habits that will lead to success eventually. Failing your way to success is a much better guarantee of victory then talking about it all the time, never taking any action and being right back where you are today in 10 years because you never bothered to take action.